Gunung Mulu National Park

The Gunung Mulu National Park bears the most famous tropical karst (tower karst) in the world. The park is dominated by Gunung Mulu mountain, a 2,376 m high limestone ridge, which is heavily karstified. The area has at least 310 km of explored caves and the largest chamber of the world, Sarawak Chamber, which measures 641 m x 429 m x 113 m. The area is said to be the most cavernous mountain in the world.

The discoveries in the park are very recent, and exploration is still ongoing. The area was a white spot on the map until the Britain Royal Geographic Society started to explore it in the seventies. And Sarawak Chamber is also a very recent discovery some years ago.

Beneath the karst features, the high biodiversity makes the karst an important place for scientific research. The park covers 17 vegetation zones, exhibiting some 3,500 species of vascular plants. 109 palm species in 20 genera are noted. And of course, the caves are providing a major wildlife spectacle in terms of millions of cave swiftlets and bats.

Sights of Gunung Mulu National Park

Literature

D.B. Brook, A.J. Eavis, Lyon (1982): Caves of the Limestone.
Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. Sarawak Museum Journal.XXX. No 51. Part 1. 95-120.
P. Chapman (1980): The biology of caves in the Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak.
Trans. Bit. Cav Res. Assoc. Vol. 7. 141-149.
P. Chapman (1982): The Ecology of caves in the Mulu National Park, Sarawak.
Cave Science, Trans. Bit. Cav Res. Assoc. Vol. 9. 142-162.
B. Hacker (Ed). (1995): The Caves of Gunung Buda.
Caves of Gunung Buda: Report of the Sarawak Forest Department and USA Caving Expedition. 63pp.